


your quiet afternoon crush

by silverstorms



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, author wrote this instead of doing her finals, cuddling!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24075292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverstorms/pseuds/silverstorms
Summary: Inej has an essay to write. Kaz has wifi and a very comfortable bed.or, a college AU in which Kaz and Inej take a nap
Relationships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Comments: 20
Kudos: 294





	your quiet afternoon crush

**Author's Note:**

> Shelby requested Kaz/Inej and afternoon naps and I would die for Shelby so here is the result, voila!
> 
> hmu @iwillhaveyouwithoutarmor on tumblr! if you send me a drabble request I will likely complete it either within 2 days or within 12-18 months!

It starts like this: it’s finals week, Inej has a 12-page paper due at midnight, the internet in her dorm won’t stop crashing, and Kaz has a single and the best wifi money can buy. (Is it drug money? Unclear. He still won’t answer her questions about that.) 

When he answers her knock, she holds out a Starbucks cup without a word. Though she’s almost too stressed to really take in the sight of him, she can’t help but notice that he’s dressed far more casually than usual, in a dark gray t-shirt instead of his usual button-down, and his hair looks slightly rumpled. It seems even the great Kaz Brekker isn’t immune to finals stress. 

He eyes the drink suspiciously. “Is that whipped cream?”

“It’s just me, Brekker,” she says. “You don’t have to pretend you only drink red-eyes.”

He takes the drink from her hand. “Is this bribery?”

“I need your wifi.” Inej stares him down. She refuses to say please. She knows Kaz likes having her around-- at least, she thinks she knows it. She’s maybe 94% certain. And even if he doesn’t, he respects the grind. 

Kaz steps back, holding the door open with his shoulder, and she’s careful not to touch him as she steps into the room. Kaz’s bed is pushed up under the window, rather than in the most shadowy corner, as some people would imagine, and though the room is incredibly sparse, Inej finds it calming. She’s a minimalist, too. 

Frothy, whipped-creamed drink in hand, Kaz moves towards his desk, then hesitates. “Do you need a table?”

“The bed is fine.” Inej’s heartbeat picks up a little as she recognizes the slight audacity of her words. “I mean, if that’s okay.” There’s something alarmingly intimate about the space with the door closed, and she knows sitting on his bed will only double it, but she likes to work in the coziest space possible. 

Kaz nods, sits down at his desk, and slips wireless headphones over his ears, reimmersed in his work instantaneously. Inej steals his pillow to prop up behind her and takes her seat on the bed. She allows herself a moment of looking at Kaz-- pale skin struck by sunlight, the line of his jaw, his fingers fiddling with the straw of the drink-- then shakes her head, pulls out her laptop, and gets to work. It’s only 10:00 a.m. She has plenty of time. 

xxx

Three and a half hours later, back aching, Inej hits the 12th page and closes her laptop with a definitive snap. It’s a messy draft, but her brain is exhausted. Kaz is still tapping away, and Inej could, technically, pack up and leave him too it, but that feels like so much effort for so little reward. Instead, she allows herself to slump over and stretch out her aching back, nestling into Kaz’s bed a little and closing her eyes for a moment. 

When she opens them, Kaz is looking at her, eyes unreadable, his headphones resting on the desk. Inej notices, with a burst of vindication that is also happiness, that the cup she brought him is empty.

“Has sociology finally killed you?”

“I’ve killed sociology,” Inej says. “We no longer live in a society.” 

He laughs, and it makes her brave. She scooches back a little, until her back is pressed against the wall, and says “Kill econ and take a break with me.” 

Kaz blinks, startled, and Inej is prepared to take it back, but he stands and crosses over. Inej holds her breath, keeping herself still as he settles down on his side next to her, eye-to-eye, the bed dipping then leveling out with his weight. 

“What are you writing about?” she says, and she feels him relax a sliver as they talk about their final papers, their bad professors, Inej’s independent study. This is always easy between them: the rapid-fire back and forth, his long winding questions about her work, his eyes never leaving her face as she answers. 

But as they’re talking, Inej can feel her eyes growing heavy. She should really go home, take a nap, make herself dinner, edit her essay. There’s a presentation to prep for, and Arabic vocab to memorize...

“You should sleep,” Kaz says quietly. 

Inej forces herself to open her eyes, though it feels like pushing a boulder up a hill. It’s so warm here in the sun, Kaz close but not quite touching, and she can see that he’s sleepy too, eyes slipping-half shut but still fixed on her face. 

He reaches across the space between them, his hand hovering just an inch from her temple. “Can I?” he asks, voice thick, and when Inej nods, his hand settles in her hair and runs through it gently. Inej lets her eyes settle closed once again and shifts a little closer, one of her knees pressing into his. His fingers move gently through her hair, and she sighs quietly and gives in to the warmth and comfort of the sensation, feeling herself drift away. 

xxx

When she wakes some time later, opening her eyes slowly, the light has shifted but the afternoon sun is still washing over them, and Kaz is asleep, one hand cupped against the back of her neck, their ankles tangled together. She exhales quietly, feeling a humming in her chest.

He shifts a little, and his eyes flutter open, light catching on his eyelashes. When Inej reaches for him, slowly, he moves closer, and her arm wraps around his back, their faces moving closer together, foreheads almost but not quite touching. Inej feels warm all the way through. She feels safe.

Kaz says, voice a little raspy “How’d you sleep?”

Inej smiles. “Well, and you?”

That tiny little smile, just at the corner of his mouth, that fills Inej with bravery and satisfaction. 

“Better than usual,” he says. He bumps his forehead against hers, just for a second. They’ve touched before, of course: shoulders pressed together as they watch _Criminal Minds_ , Kaz pulling a leaf out her hair as they drink coffee in the park, Inej pressing a hand against his cheek when she told him that if he wanted her, he had to tell her. 

He’s been telling her ever since then, in small ways: bringing her sushi when she’s up late in the library, reading her favorite book without prompting, nudging her shoulder to exchange a silent joke at dinners with their friends. 

But this is a first, and it makes her feel like her heart is bursting, like something has shifted, like good things are coming, good things that are going to last for a long time. 

“Hungry?” says Kaz.

“A bit.”

“Sushi?” 

Inej nods and starts to sit up, but he taps her shoulder, like a question. 

“Another minute,” he says, a low, half-embarrassed request.

Inej grins and presses her forehead against his. “I’ll give you five.” 

“I’d expect a tougher negotiation from you, Ghafa.”

“Don’t worry, Brekker,” she says. “I have what I want.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope yall enjoyed the Soft(tm). 
> 
> reviews are lovely!


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